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AMA launches ad campaign to push Senators on 'doc fix'

CNN Money: The American Medical Association is launching an ad campaign to push lawmakers to stop a scheduled 21 percent cut to Medicare doctors' pay. "The House voted May 28 to delay the cuts for 19 months, but the Senate did not take action before the Memorial Day recess. The AMA's TV, radio and print ads slam senators for failing to pass the 'doc fix' before taking their week-long break.

4 Jun 2010

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

Over 90 percent of psychiatric patients who received treatment in community hospitals were cared for in hospital-based psychiatric specialty units, according to a study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and published today in Psychiatric Services.

3 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Today's headlines reflect news regarding health reform and the budget deficit as well as a new ad campaign by the AMA to press Senators to approve a freeze on scheduled Medicare payment cuts.

3 Jun 2010

Delaying cholecystectomy in elderly patients can increase cost and mortality

New research findings published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicate that delaying cholecystectomy, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, in elderly patients with sudden inflammation of the organ often results in increased costs, morbidity and mortality.

3 Jun 2010

Rate of in-hospital mortality decreases and hospital readmission increases for heart failure patients: JAMA

An analysis of Medicare data from 1993 through 2006 for older patients hospitalized for heart failure indicates that along with a decrease in hospital length of stay, the rate of in-hospital and 30-day mortality has decreased, while the rate of hospital readmission and discharge to skilled nursing facilities has increased, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA.

3 Jun 2010

Study: Shortened hospital stays may bring increased risks of return

"To save costs, hospitals for years have been discharging patients after shorter stays. But at the same time more people are having to return to hospital for additional care within a month of their initial treatment, according to a major new study of Medicare heart-failure patients."

3 Jun 2010

Regulators miss deadline on medical loss ratios: Other implementation developments continue to emerge

Insurance regulators have missed an early deadline to set specific rules meant to ensure that insurers devote 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars to medical care, the so-called "medical loss ratio."

3 Jun 2010

Medicare: Both doctors and patients are looking for private options

Although people may believe that their insurance worries are over once they qualify for Medicare, both doctors and patients are looking for a private option—especially with Medicare's looming bankruptcy, and ObamaCare's promise to cut half a trillion dollars from it to help fund universal coverage.

3 Jun 2010

Today's opinions: Virginia suit leads opposition to health law; Help for 9/11 responders; Blue Dogs' support for doctors

There are about a half-dozen constitutional lawsuits underway already against parts of President Obama's health care law. Most eyes are on the multistate case filed in Florida, joined by 20 states across America. But a parallel suit is progressing in the Old Dominion, in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... [T]his will be the first legal battle in Obamacare, and one that will move forward much more quickly than the constitutional fight. The first battle in what will be a long war (Ken Klukowski, 6/1).

3 Jun 2010

Fraud roundup: LA hospital workers investigated; Guilty pleas in Texas and N.J. cases; Fla. candidate defends his actions

Los Angeles County officials are investigating allegations that Olive View-UCLA Medical Center staff accepted gifts from nursing home employees in exchange for placing Medi-Cal and Medicare patients at their facilities, a possible violation of the county's code of ethics, as well as state and federal anti-kickback laws.

3 Jun 2010

AP: Asking questions can save patients money

Doing some simple homework before receiving medical treatment may help consumers save money, The Associated Press reports. "Here are some things to consider before checking in to a hospital or outpatient surgery center for non-emergency care. Be prepared to ask your doctor or insurer questions."

3 Jun 2010

Rural hospitals: Does the health law help or hurt?

Some politicians and hospital administrators worry that the new health law will cause rural facilities to lose revenue, bucking the trend of Washington's political establishment's long support for rural hospitals, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The law does have "pro-rural provisions" that received bipartisan support. But as the federal government writes rules for the law, partisan interpretations of the true impact on rural hospitals has continued.

2 Jun 2010

AMA to campaign for Medicare payment 'doc fix,' physicians increasingly frustrated

The American Medical Association is launching an ad campaign urging Congress to end a 21 percent cut to Medicare doctor reimbursement rates as physicians consider opting out the federal health care program.

2 Jun 2010

CompCare joins Peoples Health network as exclusive managed behavioral healthcare provider

Comprehensive Care Corporation today announced that it has signed a multi-year contract to provide behavioral health services for Peoples Health. Based in Metairie, Louisiana, Peoples Health is an entirely physician-owned and operated local organization that provides benefits exclusively to Medicare recipients in southeast Louisiana.

2 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 2, 2010

In today's news, insurance regulators fail to meet an early deadline for setting standards on premium spending rules within the new health law.

2 Jun 2010

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital performs 1000th carotid artery stent procedure

The Texas Heart Institute (THI) at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital has announced another major milestone in improved patient care, after performing its 1000th carotid artery stent procedure. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has emerged as a less invasive treatment for stroke-causing blockages in the carotid artery, meaning patients generally have fewer risks for complications, shorter hospital stays and recovery times and less expense.

2 Jun 2010

Oncimmune develops new blood test to aid early detection of cancer

The University of Nottingham spin-out company, Oncimmune Ltd, has developed a ground breaking blood test which will aid the detection of cancer as much as five years earlier than current testing methods such as mammography and CT scans. Physicians will know the result of their patient's test within one week of sending in a blood sample to Oncimmune.

2 Jun 2010

New Health Navigator program to help IEHP Members better understand how to use health care

Inland Empire Health Plan has developed an innovative program called Health Navigator designed to help IEHP Members better understand how to use their health care. Launching this month, the program will arrive in select communities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It aims to increase preventive-care visits and reduce avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

2 Jun 2010

State roundup: Ohio and Washington prepare high risk pool plans; Calif. lawmakers consider 20 bills; Virginia wrestles with Medicaid issues

A popular piece of the health-care overhaul bans insurance companies from denying individual coverage or charging high premiums to people with pre-existing medical conditions. But for adults younger than age 65, that provision doesn't kick in until 2014. In the meantime, the federal government wants states to create temporary high-risk pools through which people with cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes who have been uninsured for at least six months can buy affordable coverage.

2 Jun 2010

With Congress on recess, health reform politics emerge on homefront

While Americans remain divided over the new health reform law, "they aren't clamoring for its repeal. … Instead, the public seems willing to listen to candidates who would give the overhaul a chance and fix or improve it as needed. That's the signal from some surveys and a congressional race in a bellwether Pennsylvania district."

2 Jun 2010

Medicare News and Research

AMA launches ad campaign to push Senators on 'doc fix'

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Delaying cholecystectomy in elderly patients can increase cost and mortality

Rate of in-hospital mortality decreases and hospital readmission increases for heart failure patients: JAMA

Study: Shortened hospital stays may bring increased risks of return

Regulators miss deadline on medical loss ratios: Other implementation developments continue to emerge

Medicare: Both doctors and patients are looking for private options

Today's opinions: Virginia suit leads opposition to health law; Help for 9/11 responders; Blue Dogs' support for doctors

Fraud roundup: LA hospital workers investigated; Guilty pleas in Texas and N.J. cases; Fla. candidate defends his actions

AP: Asking questions can save patients money

Rural hospitals: Does the health law help or hurt?

AMA to campaign for Medicare payment 'doc fix,' physicians increasingly frustrated

CompCare joins Peoples Health network as exclusive managed behavioral healthcare provider

First Edition: June 2, 2010

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital performs 1000th carotid artery stent procedure

Oncimmune develops new blood test to aid early detection of cancer

New Health Navigator program to help IEHP Members better understand how to use health care

State roundup: Ohio and Washington prepare high risk pool plans; Calif. lawmakers consider 20 bills; Virginia wrestles with Medicaid issues

With Congress on recess, health reform politics emerge on homefront

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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